Grayson Allen named lone 2017-18 captain for Duke men's basketball

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski hinted at it for much of the offseason, and now he has made it public—Grayson Allen is a captain again.

Seth Davis of The Athletic reported in a profile of Allen that Krzyzewski named the senior guard the lone captain of his 2017-18 Blue Devils. A team spokesman confirmed the news Monday morning. Allen was initially a team captain last year along with Amile Jefferson and Matt Jones, but he lost the honor after tripping Elon’s Steven Santa Ana Dec. 21, resulting in a flagrant foul and a one-game suspension.

Allen will be Duke’s first solo captain since DeMarcus Nelson held the title alone for the 2007-08 team 10 years ago. As the Blue Devils’ lone senior and only player on the entire roster that has played significant minutes in college, Allen was a clear choice to lead a team with six freshmen and three sophomores.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native is the only remaining Duke player that was on the 2015 national championship team, when he played a major role in the title-game win against Wisconsin. A year later, he had a breakthrough season with 21.6 points per game as a sophomore.

Allen hoped to graduate a year early in preparation for a jump to the NBA when he elected to return for his junior season, but those plans changed when toe and ankle injuries and the tripping controversy impeded his progress. His shooting percentages dropped across the board and his scoring average fell to 14.5 points per game.

Davis’ in-depth story details Allen’s decision to return for his senior year and says Krzyzewski instructed him to stay away from basketball for three months during the summer to rediscover his love for the game and get healthy physically. The Athletic is a subscription-based sports website that launched its national college basketball coverage Monday morning.

After offseason surgery to clean out his ankle, Allen is healthy and ready for one more run as a captain that the Blue Devils hope will be more successful than last year.